Lock nut



June 16, 1942. B. G. CARLSOYN 2,286,895

LOCK NUT Filed April I6, 1941 INVENTOR. .BEET 6' C'AELSON Patented June 16, 1942 LOCK NUT Bert V G. Carlson, Willobee, Ohio, assignor to The Weatherhead Company, Cleveland, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application April 16, 1941, Serial No. 388,839 I 2 Claims. (Cl; 151-21) This invention relates to improvements in selflocking nuts whereinthe nut and locking portion are formed as an integral structure. I

One of the objects of the present invention is the provision of a nut which, upon engagement with an abutting surface, is distorted or deformed to increase the frictional engagement between the nut and a coacting bolt or stud. Another object is to provide such a nut wherein the thread in different portions thereof, will engage opposite faces of the thread on the coacting bolt for locking the nut thereto. Another object is to provide a simple and compact nut embodying a locking portion. Further objects are to provide such a nut which is light in weight, economical of manufacture, reliable and efiicient in service and which is capable of ready assembly upon a bolt. 1

Other objects and advantages more or less ancillary to the foregoing, and the manner in which all the various objects are realized, will appear in the following description, which considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, sets forth the preferred embodiment of the invention. I

I preferably accomplish the above and other objects of the present invention by-providing a nut with an integrally formed locking portion having a thread of the same pitch as thenut, said locking portion having a circular bead on the end thereof, the engagement of the bead with a work surface or abutment as the nut is tightened, resulting in the distortion of the locking portion and effecting the securement of the nut upon the coacting bolt. Preferably the nut has formed therein adjacent an end thereof concentric intemal and external grooves which are spaced apart to form a connecting web which constitutes a fulcrum for. the locking portion. The nut, before being tightened into engagement with an abutting surface, is formed preferably to spin freely on a bolt or stud under finger manipulation, thereby requiring a minimum .of use of a tightening wrench.

Referring to the drawing wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, Fig. 1- is a vertical sectional view of a nut embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan viewof the nut taken on a plane indicated by line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the nut secured upon a bolt, the view as indicated by line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, the locknut is preferably formed from a blank of ductile material havin sufficient elasticity to permit flexing of one poralong the vertical axes thereof tion of the locknut with respect to the other portion. The blank is provided with an opening which is tapped to provide a thread III of a constant pitch extending from one end of the blank to the opposite end. I 1

The locknut is formed, adjacent its lower or a work 'engaging end, .with an internal annular groove II which is spaced from a concentric ex: ternal annular groove I2 by a relatively thin connecting web Il. The formation of the grooves II and 12 in the locknut divides the blank into a nut or body portion I5 and a locking portion I6, with the lockingporti onbeing of less thickness than the nut portion. The locking portion I6 is preferably of such a thickness as to embrace about one and one-half convolutions of the thread I0. A circular bead I] is formed on the lower end of the locking portion'IB adjacentits outer edge and is adapted, to engage the work or abutting surface 20 as the nut is threaded on a bolt I9.

In the use of the locknut, the thread I0 of the body and locking portions is adapted to engage a thread I8 formed on the coacting bolt I9 with the locking portion l6 preceding the body portion I5 as the locknut is threaded thereon. The threads are preferably dimensioned so that the nut may be spun on easily, as withthe fingers until the circular bead I'I comes into engagement with the surface 20, Fig. 3. Thereafter, the locknut'is tightened upon the bolt I9 in the usual manner, as by a wrench. During the tightening of the locknut the lockin portion I6 will become distorted as it fulcrums about the connecting web Id. The pivotal movement of the locking portion I6 about the web M causes the internal groove II to open or become wider while at the same time the outer edges of the external groove I2 are closed or narrowed, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The distortion or pivotal movement of the locking portion I6 about the connecting web It causes the leading face 2I of th portion of the internal nut thread III embraced by the locking portion I6 to engage the following face 22 of the coacting bolt thread I-8. Thus as the bolt is held and the nut is spun thereon the leading face 2| of the portion of the internal nut thread In embraced by the locking portion I6 will intimately engage the following face 22 of the bolt thread I8, while the following faces 23 of the nut thread II) in the portion I5.of the nut will intimately engage the leading faces 24 of the coacting bolt thread I8. However, if the nut is held and the bolt I9 is turned the following faces 22 of the bolt thread I8 become the leading faces and the bolt thread I8 will engage the following face of the nut thread I embraced by the locking portion I6 and the following faces of the bolt thread I8 will engage the leading face of the nut thread III embraced by the portion I5 of the nut; This engagement of the threads in the locking portion l6 and the body portion I5 with opposite faces of the thread I8 of the bolt locks or clamps the nut upon the bolt and this frictional engagement effectively resists the action of vibrations and shocks which might otherwise loosen the nut upon the bolt.

In removing the locknut from the bolt the initial turning of the locknut upon the bolt is accomplished through the use of a wrench applied to the body portion I5. After the locknut is initially loosened upon the bolt, the clamping engagement between the threads of the nut and the threads of the bolt is relaxed somewhat so that the nut may be readily removed from the bolt. Dueto the elastic qualities of the locknut, the locking portion I6 will have a tendency to return to its original form. By reasonof this characteristic, the nut may be repeatedly loosened and tightened without undue wear and without damage to the usual corrosion-resistant plating or coating ordinarily formed on the threaded surface of the coacting bolt.

parting from the scope or spirit of the invention as herein claimed. v

I claim: v 1. A locknut comprising a body having an internal .thread embodying leading and following of said portions adjacent the periphery of the nut, said bead being adapted to engage" an abutting surface to expand said internal groove and contract said external groove whereby the leading faces of the threads of the bead carrying portion of the nut will intimately engage the following faces of the threads of the bolt and the following faces of the threads on the other portion of the nut will intimately engage the leading faces of the threads of the bolt.

2. A locknut comprising a body having an internal thread embodying leading and following faces engageable with a running clearance over the leading and following faces of threads on a coacting bolt, said body having internal and ex ternal annular grooves disposed in a common plane and dividing the nut into two portions con- Although the foregoing description is necesintended to be restrictive or confining, and that various rearrangements of parts and modifications of detail may be resorted to without denected by a thin deformable web adjacent said internal thread, a bead formed on the end of one of said portions adjacent the periphery of the nut, said bead engageable with an abutting surface for deforming said'web to effect the intimate engagement 'of a face of the thread of the bead carrying portion of the nut with a face of the thread of the boltopposite to that face of the thread of the bolt engaged by the face of the thread in the other portion of the nut.

BERT G. CARLSON. 

